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A Blast from the Past and Midnight Shakes

As I mentioned in a past post, I was set to meet old schoolmates from Portugal on Saturday. Of course I expected some awkwardness and reminescence, but never did I think I’d not find some way of simply getting along with them (okay… maybe not all of them).

Now, I know I may will sound condescending, but I can’t help it.

As I greeted the people with whom I had shared seven years of my life, I saw them as being a safe part of my past. This is not to mean they haven’t changed – they have – I simply meant to say that they belong to a world I don’t feel I can connect with – belong to – anymore.

I can’t be in a land where preppy/surfer rules all (this coming from Surrey-boy) or weed is taken on café balconies on a regular basis. A land of pás and ó chefes…

They all stayed and, for the most part, kept contact. As for me, I moved out… of the continent. I traveled and got myself a bit of a convoluted past. The sights, smells and habits I find commonplace (perhaps even prosaic) they find weird and exotic. I have had the choice to pick and choose what I like about my country and have made a foreign place home.

As for them, they can say they were “born and raised” somewhere, “know this town like the backs of their hands” or have God-knows-how-many generations in that town/house.

On a separate note: last night, between 1:40 and 1:45 AM (GMT, 17th December 2009) there was an earthquake of a [Richter] Magnitude of 6.0. The epicentre was 264 Km bearing Southwest of Lisbon. I was awake, reading when it happened. Once it hit I jsut looked around wondering whether or not I should do something…